Modi inaugurates India's first ever driverless train ops on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated India's first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line along with the National Common Mobility Card services on the Airport Express corridor, through a video conference. The driverless train will be initially inaugurated on the Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden, and will then be extended

Dec 29, 2020 - 05:30
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Modi inaugurates India's first ever driverless train ops on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated India's first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line along with the National Common Mobility Card services on the Airport Express corridor, through a video conference.

The driverless train will be initially inaugurated on the Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden, and will then be extended to the Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar) by mid-2021.

Union Minister Hardeep Puri and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal were present on the occasion.

"This is an attempt to make urban development future ready. Preparing the country for future needs is an important responsibility of governance. Urbanization should not be seen as a challenge but used as an opportunity to build better infrastructure in the country, an opportunity through which we can enhance ease of living," Modi said. 

In 2014, only 5 cities had metro rail and today, metro rail is available in 18 cities and by 2025 it is expected to expand to more than 25 cities. 

"In 2014, only 248 km of metro lines were operational in the country and today it is about three times, more than 700 kilometers. By 2025, we are trying to expand it to 1700 km," Modi addadded.

He further said that the government is also exploring the concept of water for cities where there are large water bodies as it would provide last mile connectivity to the people near the islands.

Emphasising on the importance of adopting make in India in metro services,  Modi said, "it reduces costs, saves foreign exchange, and gives more employment to people in the country itself. Standardization of rolling stock has already reduced the cost of every coach from Rs 12 crore to Rs 8 crore now. Today, four big companies are manufacturing metro coaches in the country and dozens of companies are engaged in the manufacture of metro components. This is helping make in India as well as the campaign for self-reliant India."

Talking about the Common Mobility Card, the Prime Minister said that  providing the same standards and facilities for modernization is very iimportat as it will give integrated access to the commuters wherever they travel, whichever public transport they take.

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